{"id":1560,"date":"2015-02-17T08:55:59","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T08:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1560"},"modified":"2015-02-15T23:07:22","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T23:07:22","slug":"tlc-tuesday-chronic-illness-deprivation-and-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/02\/tlc-tuesday-chronic-illness-deprivation-and-lent.html","title":{"rendered":"TLC Tuesday: Chronic Illness, Deprivation, and Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maureen<\/a>Lent begins tomorrow, and today, many people will be indulging in overindulgence so that they can “tank up” before depriving themselves (mostly) of whatever they choose to give up for Lent.<\/p>\n

(I realize that doesn’t fully describe “Fat Tuesday,” or, “Mardi Gras,” but I choose to be general about it.)<\/p>\n

You see, I don’t really observe the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday as a 24-hour chocolate binge (or any other binge for that matter). I prefer to add something during Lent, rather than take something away, and if you have a chronic illness that precariously balances on the edge of a routine, with little disruption, then you probably understand why I do this.<\/p>\n

When you live with a chronic illness, you essentially live deprivation of many kinds. So, I prefer to try to do something more, something “more good,” during the 40 days of Lent and, hopefully, beyond. And, like every year, I will keep this to myself, not seeking public acknowledgement, but rather, being “anonymous” to anyone but God.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you feel you have no joy. Try to cultivate it for Lent. Or, perhaps, you have a hard time being compassionate toward people who are less ill than you, but complain more loudly. Try to turn around your heart. Maybe you really abhor the body that has become yours over the course of your illness. Try to see it through God’s prism: one of love for his unique child, one worthy of respect and love.<\/p>\n

Take today to muster determination for tomorrow and all through Lent – to add something positive instead of focusing on the negative!<\/p>\n

Peace<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lent begins tomorrow, and today, many people will be indulging in overindulgence so that they can “tank up” before depriving themselves (mostly) of whatever they choose to give up for Lent. (I realize that doesn’t fully describe “Fat Tuesday,” or, “Mardi Gras,” but I choose to be general about it.) You see, I don’t really…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,360,43,1047,578,1247,1246],"tags":[1534,1535,1532,1531,1529,1527,1530,387,1523,1533,1528],"class_list":["post-1560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-determination","category-encouragement-in-life","category-good","category-goodness","category-rising-above-tragedy","category-uplifting","tag-be-positive-during-lent","tag-chronic-illness-and-lent","tag-cultivate-joy","tag-dont-give-up-something-for-lent","tag-fasting-during-lent","tag-fat-tuesday","tag-giving-something-up-for-lent","tag-lent","tag-lent-2015","tag-love-yourself-for-lent","tag-mardi-gras"],"yoast_head":"\nTLC Tuesday: Chronic Illness, Deprivation, and Lent - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/02\/tlc-tuesday-chronic-illness-deprivation-and-lent.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TLC Tuesday: Chronic Illness, Deprivation, and Lent - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lent begins tomorrow, and today, many people will be indulging in overindulgence so that they can “tank up” before depriving themselves (mostly) of whatever they choose to give up for Lent. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1561,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions\/1561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}